Climate Coalition Blocks Freeway Exit in May Day Protest Against Oil and Gas Lobby
Photo by William Dickson
WASHINGTON, DC — Over 40 local climate activists blocked rush-hour traffic in downtown DC to condemn the American Petroleum Institute (API) and American Gas Association (AGA) for their role in enabling fossil fuel companies in driving climate catastrophe.
The three year period between 2022-2025 was the hottest in recorded human history, with 2026 already positioned to be another record-breaking year. In DC alone, residents have been facing violent heat waves, flooding, sea level rise, and unpredictable storm surges, the extreme threat they pose a direct result of Big Oil’s greenhouse gas emissions.
“In the few years I’ve lived in DC, I’ve almost passed out due to extreme heat, been forced to hide out from tornado warnings, and watched my utility costs skyrocket just so I can stay safe from the escalating temperatures,” said Liana SC, an organizer with Sunrise DC. “This is not normal, and it’s only happening because of the chokehold oil and gas companies have over our government.”
Thanks to lobbying efforts by API and AGA, Big Oil reports yet another year of soaring profits, all while continuing to mislead the public about their role in worsening climate disasters. And now, they have pressured lawmakers into proposing new legislation to shield the oil and gas industry from litigation that could otherwise pave the way to a greener and more just future.
“Corrupt lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are working hand-in-hand with the Trump regime and the fossil fuel lobby to incinerate what’s left of our futures for a quick buck,” said Jackson Schnabel, a student organizer with Sunrise Georgetown. “They are profiting off of our suffering, and we’re here to say we’ve had enough.”
At 8 a.m., activists from Sunrise Movement DC, Extinction Rebellion DC, and the Elders Coalition for Climate Action blockaded the 395 freeway exit, stalling rush hour traffic outside both the API and AGA headquarters. Protesters chanted “No Trump, No API, No fascist USA” while carrying a giant model Earth along with banners that read “API, AGA, USA: End Fossil Fuel Fascism,” “Big Oil Fuels War,” and “No Jobs on a Dead Planet.”
This blockade occurred simultaneously with three other May Day blockades stationed at different intersections in downtown DC, all calling for investment in American communities over corporate profit–their specific demands being tied to No War, DC Statehood, and Labor Rights.
“We are in the street this May Day because business as usual cannot continue,” Said Alex Ames, a DC resident. “Not when ‘business as usual’ means funds that should be supporting working people are instead going into the pockets of oil billionaires, tech billionaires, and war profiteers.”
The morning efforts of these four coalitions kicked off a full International Worker Solidarity “Day of Action,” made up of a midday rally and evening concert, all of which was part of the nationwide May Day Strong movement that called for No Work, No School, No Shopping, and for everyday people to take the streets on Friday to demand our government prioritize people over billionaires. DC May Day actions were hosted by a large coalition of local organizations and unions, including Free DC, CASA, DC Jobs With Justice, Sunrise Movement, and more.
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Sunrise DC is a local hub of the national Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate justice organization fighting for collective liberation and a better future through a Green New Deal.
Extinction Rebellion DC is a local hub of an international movement using non-violent direct-action to fight for climate justice. Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.
Elders Coalition for Climate Action recognizes the unique responsibility that elders have facing the linked crises of a near total erosion of our basic freedoms with the endangerment of life itself on earth. We are never too old!